President Obama, Members of the US House of Representatives and US Senate: Enact strict gun control legislation

In addition to the recent mass murders in Newtown, an average of 34 people are killed a day by gun violence in America. The time to enact strict gun control legislation is NOW!

Letter to

President Obama, Members of the US House of Representatives and US Senate

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Senate

and 1 other

President of the United States

We, the undersigned, are sickened and saddened by the events that took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012.

We are sickened and saddened that we live in a country where these kinds of incidents are commonplace, and where our political leaders lack the courage to do anything about them. We are not satisfied to watch our political leaders again merely express dismay and send condolences to the families of the dead. We demand comprehensive legislation and strong political action to do away with the blight of gun violence.

We resolve from this day on to demand that our elected officials address this issue by putting in place laws that severely restrict the ability of private citizens to obtain and use firearms in our schools, on our streets, and in other public spaces.

We resolve to hold our elected officials accountable. From this day on, we will never again donate money to, nor vote for, a political leader who has not taken affirmative steps to reduce gun violence in our nation.

We are aware that the Second Amendment to our Constitution has often been read as a warrant for any private citizen to bear arms, but we regard this interpretation as flawed. The intention of the Framers of the Constitution was to enable the maintenance of militias. Our country now has professional police forces. Citizens’ militias are no longer necessary or lawful.

We believe that our power of self-government springs from the ballot, not the barrel of a gun. We do not regard possession of firearms as the grounds of our liberty. We place our democratic faith in electoral institutions, not guns.

We resolve not to let these concerns pass from our attention. We cannot wait any longer to solve the problem of gun violence in our nation. We are accustomed to watching political leaders address our concerns at moments of tragedy, only to abandon the cause of curbing gun violence as the news cycle passes. We will no longer allow that to happen. We demand action now, and we will do everything in our power to keep this issue at the forefront of our leaders’ attention.